


system/REGRESS.steven

by agerefandom (tazia101)



Series: Steven Universe Regression [2]
Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Age Regression, Age Regression/De-Aging, Amethyst is a Good Big Sister, Canon-Typical Violence, Gen, Reboot Pearl, Regressor!Steven, Rejuvenator Shenanigans, Swearing, involuntary regression
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-23
Updated: 2021-02-23
Packaged: 2021-03-13 17:27:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,102
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29654754
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tazia101/pseuds/agerefandom
Summary: Slight AU of the Steven Universe Movie: what if the rejuvenator worked on Steven, sending him into a mentally regressed state that he can't get out of? Amethyst manages to dodge the hit from Spinel and becomes the one who needs to get everyone back together.
Relationships: Amethyst & Steven Universe
Series: Steven Universe Regression [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2179167
Comments: 1
Kudos: 21





	system/REGRESS.steven

**Author's Note:**

> It's not necessary to read my other Steven Universe regression fanfiction before this one, although the two fics do take place in the same universe. You just need to know that Steven does sometimes age regress, outside of rejuvenator shenanigans. It's part of his PTSD symptoms as well as one of his coping mechanisms. 
> 
> This was originally posted on my tumblr account, @agerefandom, where I'm often taking requests for agere stories for miscellaneous fandoms!

This fight is a shitshow. The strange gem, who Amethyst has nicknamed ‘Pigtails,’ moves like no one she’s fought before. Pigtails’ form can warp to absorb their attacks and dodge their blows: Amethyst hasn’t even managed to uncoil her whip, she’s so busy running after their opponent as she bounces across the grass from one Crystal Gem to the next.

Pigtails lands a solid hit on Steven, sending him sprawling, and then her body begins to stretch. Amethyst runs after the stranger as she wraps herself around the lighthouse. She isn’t afraid of this weirdo, not as long as her friends are beside her.

“No!” Steven yells from behind them, and Amethyst realizes Pigtails’ plan the moment before she releases the tension in her body and ricochets back towards them, her scythe a blur of light as she spins it.

Thanks to Steven’s warning, Amethyst manages to dive out of the way. The others aren’t as lucky, and Amethyst hears herself cry out as Pearl and Garnet’s forms are dissolved, their gems dropping to the ground with a sound that Amethyst never wants to hear again.

That’s no standard weapon, if it took two Crystal Gems out in one hit. It must be older gem tech, from the war. Amethyst rolls to her feet, finally unfurling her whip, but Pigtails doesn’t even spare her a glance as she makes for Steven with the glowing scythe raised above her head.

Steven gets to his feet, summoning his shield and meeting the stranger halfway. Her weapon slices through Steven’s defense and passes right through Steven’s body. Lines of sparking energy start to cross Steven’s skin where the blade has touched him, and now Amethyst is sure that it’s gem tech. She’s seen Steven take hits like this before, made to dissolve gem’s corporeal forms.

“Who are you?” Steven yells, catching the gem’s arms as she tries another swipe. “Why are you doing this?”

“You should _know!_ ” screams the stranger, pulling free and bringing her blade up for a wild strike.

Seeing Pigtails unbalanced, Amethyst moves. Her whip wraps around the handle of the scythe and pulls it from the stranger’s hands. It spins through the air, a blur of crackling energy, and Amethyst manages to pull it from the air without touching the blade.

Pigtails spins around, her shifting pupils setting on Amethyst with absolute hatred. “ _You_ ,” she hisses.

Amethyst runs forward, stolen weapon in one hand. Pigtails tenses and looks around for an escape, but Steven wraps his arms around her middle and holds her tight. Snarling, the gem stretches her arms towards Amethyst, but she manages to slide underneath the gloved hands and comes up swinging, the blade slicing neatly through Pigtails’ stomach above Steven’s arms.

The gem’s eyes widen, and her arms retract back to her sides. For a moment, she stares into Amethyst’s eyes, and then her form dissipates and the gem falls to the ground.

“Pearl! Garnet!” Steven calls, stepping over the pink gem and bolting for the place where they fell. Amethyst watches him run, the remaining lines of the weapon’s energy slowly fading from his arms. He’s limping slightly, one hand over his gem as he runs up the hill. He’s hurt.

After a moment of confusion, Amethyst finds a switch on the side of the scythe and sighs in relief when it folds back into itself and stops glowing. She tucks it into her gem for later and follows Steven up the hill to their discorporated friends.

Steven is holding Pearl when she reaches him, crying hard enough that his shoulders are shaking.

“Steven, it’s okay.” Amethyst puts a hand on his shoulder, squeezing gently. “They’ve just been forced into their gems. They’ll be back soon. That thing was probably some kind of destabilizer.”

“Sorry.” Steven wipes his eyes. “I- I can’t stop crying. I don’t know why.” He makes a pained sound, and Amethyst watches him double over, Pearl toppling to the grass as both hands go to his stomach. A crackling pink energy expands from his gem and then recedes again.

“Steven!” Amethyst kneels down, and he falls against her. She catches him easily enough, peering over his shoulder to see what’s happening. The familiar lines of gem-tech are still coursing through his gem, fluctuating with crackling white light. _Shit_. This is bad: that isn’t what destabilizers usually do to Steven. “It’s okay, I’ve got you.”

“M’sorry,” Steven sobs, curling into himself. “I can’t- I’m-” The words break into tears, the kind of wails that Amethyst only hears when Steven is regressing.

“It’s okay,” Amethyst says, in what she hopes is a soothing voice. “It’s okay, kiddo, I’ve got you. You’re safe now.” Steven reaches out for her, and Amethyst tugs him into her lap, rubbing circles on his back. “You’re okay,” she repeats, trying to sound calm as her eyes scour the grass for Ruby and Sapphire. She sees both of them, whole and unharmed, and she relaxes slightly.

She hasn’t seen Steven regress on the battlefield: he usually manages to make it back to the beach house. But Steven hasn’t seen the other gems discorporated in a while. It makes sense that it was a trigger. Or maybe the ongoing pain from the scythe has an impact: Amethyst can still see the lines in his gem. Usually, pain prevents Steven from regressing, but maybe this is the opposite? Ugh, she wishes one of the others was here. She’s good at being a babysitter, but she thinks of herself as more of a playmate than a real caregiver. Big sister material. She’s good with the diapers and the feeding and all that, but she’s never been great at figuring out what Steven needs or wants when he’s like this.

“Okay, kiddo, can you sit here for me?” Amethyst asks, patting Steven’s shoulders. “I’ve got to get our friends.”

“Nnnn!” Steven wraps his hand in Amethyst’s shirt and pulls. It’s a feeble yank, but enough to let Amethyst know that she’s not going anywhere without a fuss.

“Alright,” she says grimly. “I can do this.”

Amethyst scoops Pearl up from the ground, ready to stick the gem in her waistband. It’s not ideal, but it’s not like Amethyst has any pockets. She can usually carry anything she needs in her gem, but it would be a horrible violation to stick Pearl in there.

Just as Amethyst shifts to put Pearl in a safe place, though, the gem starts glowing.

 _Back already?_ Amethyst obligingly places her gem on the grass, scooting backwards with Steven in her arms to give Pearl the space to reform.

Sure enough, her gem lifts into the air, and a shape takes form in the light… a shimmering oyster.

 _Huh._ Amethyst blinks up at it. _That’s weird_.

“Please, identify yourself,” a voice says. It does and does not sound like Pearl.

“Amethyst?” says Amethyst, who isn’t entirely sure what else to do. Is this some new defense mechanism? She’s seen Pearl reform a dozen times, and it’s never been like this.

“Greetings, Amethyst,” says the voice. “Please state customization options.”

“I- what? Just be Pearl!” Amethyst says, keeping one arm around Steven. He’s stopped crying, at least, and is staring up at the glowing oyster with curious eyes.

“Default setting selected. Please stand by.”

 _What the fuck is happening??_ Amethyst asks herself, unwilling to swear while Steven is regressed next to her.

The shimmering shape around Pearl’s gem drifts towards the ground, and glows brighter. Finally, a familiar body begins to emerge, and Amethyst relaxes.

“P’rl!” Steven babbles excitedly, clapping his hands.

The light solidifies, and Pearl steps onto the grass. She’s wearing a dress that Amethyst has never seen on her, knee-length and made with soft pink gauze. She glances around the hill before her eyes land on Amethyst, and widen.

Immediately, she drops to one knee, bending her head low enough that her hair nearly brushes the grass.

“My Amethyst,” she says. “Thank you for bringing me into the world. I am at your eternal service, as your new Pearl.”

There is a ringing silence.

“What the fuck, Pearl?” Amethyst manages, forgetting about the baby beside her for a moment. “Is this your idea of a joke?”

“A joke, my Amethyst? I can tell one if you’d like,” Pearl says, bringing her eyes up to meet Amethyst’s. “I seek only to bring you pleasure.”

 _Right_. Amethyst gets to her feet, pulling Steven up with her. Steven stumbles, clumsy in his regression, and Amethyst steadies him with an arm around his waist. “This isn’t funny, Pearl. Steven is hurt. Can you tell what’s wrong with him?”

“I can try,” Pearl says, and gets to her feet. She drifts over to Steven, her little slippers hardly touching the grass. Everything about her is unfamiliar, _wrong_. The way her hands are clasped in front of her, shoulders down, her eyes flickering to Amethyst and then back to the ground. It’s all a show of subservience, and it makes Amethyst’s skin crawl. This isn’t a joke. This is something else.

Pearl begins inspecting Steven, pulling up his shirt to peer at his gem and then running her hands over his arms. She seems curious, pressing her fingers into his shoulders and looking surprised at the feeling of his skin.

“What is this ‘Steven,’ my Amethyst? He seems to be partially organic.” Her face crinkles slightly as she looks at Steven’s tear-stained face. “And… leaking.” She produces a handkerchief from her gem and swiftly cleans Steven’s face, dropping the handkerchief to the ground with a dainty flick of the wrist. “There, that’s better.”

 _Okay_ , Amethyst thinks. _It’s still Pearl, somehow_.

“Don’t you remember Steven?” Amethyst asks, drawing closer to Pearl. “What’s the last thing you remember?”

“Remember?” Pearl echoes, sounding confused. “I have no memory, my Amethyst. You created me. I have extensive databanks on gem etiquette, of course, and a working understanding of the systems of economy, conquest, gem production, and anything else you may need me to assist in organizing.” She lifts Steven into the air and turns him over, checking him at all angles. “However, there is no ‘Steven’ in my databanks.”

“He’s half-human,” Amethyst sighs. “He needs a caregiver.”

“It that why you brought me into the world? To care for this ‘Steven’?” Pearl asks, putting Steven back on his feet. Steven is giggling a little from being spun around, clearly a bit dizzy.

“I… yeah.” Amethyst nods. “Take care of Steven. He needs a diaper, and a pacifier, and….” _None of this will be in her databanks_ , she realizes. _Shit._ “Just keep an eye on him for now. He’s… fragile. Don’t let him run off a cliff or anything. Hold his hand.”

Pearl nods and immediately takes a firm hold of Steven’s left hand. “Yes, my Amethyst. I will ensure the Steven isn’t harmed.”

“That’s- good. Thanks, Pearl,” Amethyst manages. Now that Steven isn’t crying every time she runs off, she can make sure Ruby and Sapphire are safe.

The moment that she takes a step towards them, though, she sees Ruby rise into the air and reform. It’s always strange to see Ruby and Sapphire apart, especially after a discorporation of their fusion.

“Are you alright?” Amethyst asks, running up to hug Ruby. It’s weird to have her arms around a gem who’s shorter than her: even Steven is taller than Amethyst, these days.

“What are you doing??” Ruby shouts, squirming against Amethyst’s grip. Amethyst immediately lets go of her, stepping back.

“Sorry! I was just worried.” She rubs her hand on the back of her neck, embarrassed by her over-reaction. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” Ruby says, and then salutes. “Where’s my assignment?”

“Your… assignment? You mean Sapphire?” _Shit, they’ve ALL lost their memories!_ Amethyst realizes. _What the hell was that thing?_

As if summoned by her name, Sapphire emerges from her gem with a soft sigh, shielding her eye against the light of the sun.

“Hey, Sapphire,” Amethyst says with a wave. “Do you remember anything?”

“I don’t,” says Sapphire serenely, and Amethyst’s chest aches. Sometimes it sucks to be right. “But I’m sure that you and I will be good friends.” She reaches out to touch Amethyst’s elbow, and Amethyst damn near starts tearing up. Okay. None of her friends remember her, but… at least Sapphire is friendly. Not that Pearl wasn’t friendly, but…. Yikes. That was a whole other kettle of fish.

“Yeah.” Amethyst pats Sapphire’s hand. “We will be. It’s good to see you.”

“My Sapphire!” Ruby salutes again, this time in Sapphire’s direction. “As my sworn duty and sole purpose, I promise to protect you with my life.”

“I know you will,” Sapphire says. “That’s why I predict you won’t last more than a day.”

“Huh?” Ruby tilts her head to one side.

“What?” Amethyst echoes.

“My Amethyst!” Pearl’s voice echoes. “I’ve found another gem!”

“Oh, shit!” Amethyst takes off running. She forgot to bubble the enemy gem once she’d been discorporated! How could she be so stupid? Her eyes find Pearl and Steven, with Pearl still firmly holding Steven’s hand. In Steven’s other hand is the heart-shaped gem of the stranger.

“Steven! Drop that!” Amethyst yells.

Steven’s eyes go wide and he drops the gem onto the grass. It’s too late, Amethyst can see it starting to glow.

“Get him away from here, Pearl! Go stand with the others,” she commands, trying not to feel like she’s taking advantage of Pearl’s… bonding or whatever the hell happened. Pearl scoops Steven into her arms and runs off to Ruby and Sapphire with admirable speed.

Sure enough, the gem rises into the air and begins to form. It slowly rotates, as if it can’t decide which way to form, but eventually settles point-down. Wasn’t that different from before?

Two arms stretch out of the glow and over Amethyst’s head. She pulls out her whip, grimacing but determined to protect the others as much as she can. Already, she knows it’s hopeless. The gem isn’t even fully formed and she’s already arcing over Amethyst’s head towards the others.

“Look out!” Amethyst yells, and the strange gem latches onto Steven with a distinctly squeaky noise.

“I’m so excited to meet you!” the gem shrieks happily, wrapping her arms around Steven several times.

“A Spinel!” Pearl gasps. “Aren’t you the lucky one, Steven?”

“Sp’nel?” Steven repeats, poking one of the hands that’s latched onto his shoulder. It makes a squeaking sound again, and Steven giggles.

“That’s me!” Suddenly, Spinel is moving again, spinning in front of the group with a wide smile. She looks different, Amethyst realizes. Her hair, her gem, even her eyes are different. “I’m your new best friend!”

“Fwend!!!” Steven babbles, reaching out for her. Spinel immediately goes to his side, booping his nose and then petting his hair with a wide-eyed curiosity.

“You’re so soft!” Spinel says approvingly. “I love it!” She hooks her arm into Steven’s, since his other hand is still held by Pearl, as instructed. She glances around at the other gems. “Hi, everyone! Is this a party or what?”

“What the hell is going on?” Amethyst wonders out loud. Spinel must have also lost her memory, so obviously it was a function of the gem tech scythe she’d brought. _Speaking of gem tech…._ She turns her eyes back to the spaceship Spinel had arrived on. There are bubbles rising in the bubblegum-coloured liquid, the drill churning as it pumps it into the earth. _That’s probably not good_.

“Do you wanna go play?” she hears Spinel asking the others.

“Steven is very fragile,” Pearl says. “He needs to hold my hand.”

 _Okay_. Amethyst puts one hand on her chin and tries to think. _No memories, no friends, one big weird spacething_.

Her eyes drift to Little Homeworld on the horizon. Oh, duh! Bismuth might be able to identify this gem weapon, that’s her specialty. And Peridot can probably figure out the controls of this spaceship.

“Okay, guys!” Amethyst says, turning back to them. Ruby is standing in front of Sapphire, eyeing the other gems suspiciously, but the rest of them turn their attention to Amethyst when she speaks. She walks towards them, tucking her whip away. Spinel doesn’t seem to be violent, although she is currently clinging to Steven like a backpack or an affectionate barnacle. Both of them are grinning. “We’re going to take a trip on the warp. Everybody, follow me! Pearl, can I take Steven?”

“Of course, my Amethyst.” Pearl deftly untangles Spinel’s arms from Steven, ignoring her indignant “hey!”. She carries Steven over, her hands under his arms like she’s carrying a misbehaving cat. Steven looks happy enough to be carried, kicking his legs in the air. Amethyst is too short to carry Steven, so she just takes his hand when Pearl deposits him beside her. She can already tell that he needs a change. Poor boy, it’s been a long day. She’s surprised he isn’t more confused by everything going on, but he must be pretty heavily regressed.

 _I wonder if it’s related to the rest of them losing their memories_? she wonders suddenly, and feels stupid for not realizing it before. Steven never regresses when he’s in the field, why didn’t it occur to her earlier? This must be part of the damage this weird weapon did to him when he was hit.

“Come on guys,” she repeats. Pearl is already beside her, arms behind her back, but the other three haven’t moved, Spinel pouting on the grass where Pearl had left her.

“We’re not goin anywhere with you!” Ruby growls from her position in front of Sapphire.

“We will follow them to the warp,” Sapphire corrects, resting one hand on Ruby’s shoulder. Ruby straightens, her face reddening as she stares at the point of contact between them.

“Uh. Yeah! We’ll follow you to the warp!” she shouts, and starts stomping in their direction, her eyes flickering back to Sapphire to make sure she’s following.

Amethyst feels a smile tug at her lips. Those two haven’t really changed all that much. Spinel runs up and grabs Steven’s other hand, wide eyes blinking up at Amethyst.

“Where are we going? Is there a slide there? Are we gonna play a game?”

Steven nods at Spinel’s questions, his eyes getting bigger and more excited.

“We’re going to meet some friends,” Amethyst explains, and starts leading the group down the hill towards the beach house. This is a weird day, and she seems to have two kids to take care of, but they’re all here. And they can figure this out. Amethyst believes in her friends.


End file.
